Life's Crossword Puzzle
by mintchoccysmelike
Summary: Life is like a crossword puzzle. Or Lily's life is very much like the crossword puzzle she is doing, anyway.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.  
  
~~~***~~~  
  
"I'm bored. Bored. Bored. Bored." Naomi Andrews sighed heavily as she tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. Her friend, Lily Evans, who was sitting beside her, nodded in agreement.  
  
Just then, a group of rowdy boys burst into the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"Oh, great. The Marauders." Lily made a face.  
  
Lily Evans was a hot-tempered, happy-go-lucky witch who was vertically challenged. She had sparkling emerald green eyes and red hair that hinted at her temper. A few freckles were splashed across her nose. She was one of the prettiest witches in Hogwarts.  
  
Her friend, Naomi Andrews, had hazel brown hair, accompanied by grayish- blue eyes. She was athletic but was almost as petite as Lily.  
  
Lily and Naomi both disliked the Marauders immensely.  
  
The head of the Marauders, James Potter, had tousled jet-black hair that never seemed to be able to straighten out properly. In the female population of Hogwarts' eyes, he was incredibly cute with his chocolate brown eyes. He was one of the best players in the Gryffindor Quidditch team and was a Chaser.  
  
Another Marauder was Sirius Black. His stylish dark hair and blue eyes captured the hearts of many girls, Lily and Naomi being exceptions, of course.  
  
Remus Lupin was the quieter member of the group. He had sandy blonde hair and eyes that were brown with gray specks in them. Although he was not as reckless as James and Sirius, he was a Marauder nonetheless and enjoyed a good prank once in a while.  
  
The last Marauder was Peter Pettigrew. He was a short, plump boy with watery blue eyes and brownish-blonde hair. He was often stuffing his face with food and usually went unnoticed by the people around him. (Hmph. I don't like Peter one bit. He's EVIL!!!)  
  
"Oooooh. look who's here! Tiger Lily and her little friend, Naomi!" James exclaimed happily to his friends.  
  
"I'm not Tiger Lily!" Lily turned an interesting shade of crimson. Naomi did not look too happy at being labeled Lily's 'little friend' either.  
  
"Of course you're Tiger Lily! You're Lily and behave like a tiger. Need I go on?" James asked in a lazy drawl.  
  
"Did someone say they were bored? Well, we're here to 'unbore' you!" Sirius bounded up to the two girls.  
  
James yawned. "Wow. The boredom must definitely be catching."  
  
"I know! Let's do a crossword puzzle!" Lily brightened up and pulled a sheet of paper out of her book satchel.  
  
Everybody crowded around. "What's a crossword puzzle?" Sirius was asking, clueless. Everyone else ignored him.  
  
~~~***~~~  
  
So??? How is it? Like it? Hate it? Review, please! And the reason Sirius does not know what a crossword puzzle is is because he has never done one before, to anyone who is wondering. Anyway, keep in mind this is only a prologue and that if no one reviews because it's so crummy, I'll not continue it. Okay, now go and submit a review!!! :D 


	2. A Seven Letter Word That Is Just Somewhe...

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.  
  
~~~***~~~

"What's a crossword puzzle? Come on, tell me!" Sirius was irritating Naomi, who was very tempted to throw a hex in his direction.

"Shut up, Sirius!" Naomi screeched irritably.

" Interesting… the theme for this crossword puzzle is 'Emotions'," Lily observed mildly, scanning the sheet of paper.

"Just read out the first clue already," James groaned impatiently.

"Fine. 'A feeling of not liking somebody or something'," Lily read out in a clear voice.

"How many letters?" Remus asked, trying to look over Lily's shoulder at the puzzle.

"Seven." James replied in the lazy drawl that Lily hated, looking down at the crossword puzzle lying on the table.

Lily glanced around the room, racking her brains for the answer.

Naomi was tolerantly explaining to Sirius what a crossword puzzle was, after much pleading on his part. Peter? He had pulled a Chocolate Frog out from his pocket and was munching contentedly on it. Remus was thinking deeply, oblivious to his surroundings.

And James. Lily's eyes rested on him last, probably because he was her most hated Marauder. In her eyes, he was a conceited, arrogant toerag with a huge ego that needed to be deflated. He was staring into space now, obviously thinking. Or trying to think, anyway, Lily thought viciously. I'm not even sure James can actually **think**. It might be too much for his brains to handle. Lily had forgotten completely about the crossword puzzle now, satisfying herself with insulting James in her head instead.

James seemed to sense Lily's eyes on him and looked up. 

"Making sheep's eyes at me now, Lily?" He asked, grinning mischievously. His right hand unconsciously jumped to his hair and started rumpling it. 

Lily eyed James' hair in distaste and a word suddenly flashed through her mind.

"Has anybody thought of the word yet?" Lily asked aloud. She was answered with murmurs of no and the shaking of heads. Sirius stared blankly at her and asked," What's the clue again?"

Lily ignored him. "I've thought of a word that can fit!" She proclaimed happily.

Everyone looked at her expectantly.

"Dislike!" 

"Hey, you're right! What inspired you?" Remus asked curiously.

Lily smiled. "Potter, of course!"

James pretended to look hurt, but he soon cheered up.

"Does that I mean I get a reward?" He asked Lily, tilting his head to one side cockily.

"Nope." Lily replied, disinterested in the topic.

She wrote the word 'dislike' down on the crossword puzzle.

Remus was just about to read out the next clue when Naomi interrupted him.

"Holy cow! Lily, do you realize we have Divination on in five minutes?" Naomi exclaimed, looking at her watch.

Lily snatched up the crossword puzzle, stuffed it in her bag, said a hurried goodbye to the Marauders and left the room quickly with Naomi at her heels.

"Divination!" Sirius threw his hands up in disgust. "Who in their right mind would take up such a subject?"

Remus tuned out Sirius' complaints about Divination and turned to James. James was obviously deep in thought. He was frowning.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Remus waved a hand in front of James' face.

James jumped up, startled.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Remus repeated every syllable slowly, as if he was talking to a retarded child.

"Oh. I was just thinking about… you know… _Lily_." James' hand jumped to his hair again.

"Ah. Lily." Remus nodded, comprehending.

"Hey! Have you three been listening to my views on Divination at all?" Sirius suddenly asked indignantly.

Peter, who was now starting on a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, nodded his head earnestly, in way of showing that he had been listening carefully to Sirius' views on Divination.

Sirius seemed mollified and started off on his opinion of Divination again, Peter listening closely to his words while working his way through the packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Remus and James continued their conversation about Lily.

"Am I really as awful as she makes me out to be?" James asked meekly. 

Remus looked at James curiously. James was now in one of his insecure moods again. He usually did not get in these moods often, more like once in two blue moons, but when he did, he was in a most vulnerable state. Might as well make the most out of it, Remus decided.

"Well… you definitely have room for improvement," Remus told James.

James hand went to his hair again, without him conscious of the fact.

"For example, you can stop messing about with your hair so much. Lily hates that," Remus quoted an example on how James could start changing.

"Does she really hate me?" James looked thoroughly miserable.

Remus decided to put him out of his misery.

"No… she just _dislikes_ you. Hate and dislike are two completely different matters." 

"How so?" James brightened up a little.

"Well, she wouldn't step on your hand if you were hanging on to the edge of a very high cliff with your hand." Sirius suddenly stopped voicing his views on Divination and decided to add in his bit of conversation.

"Err… well, I suppose I agree with Padfoot. If she hated you, she wouldn't think twice about stepping on your hand in that situation. But she only _dislikes_ you, so she would probably make an attempt to haul you back up." Remus agreed with Sirius.

James was now fully convinced that Lily did not hate him and that he was not _that_ bad. 

"I'm hungry. Want to come with me and raid the kitchens, anybody?" He grinned cheerfully at his friends.

A wave of relief surged through Remus and Sirius. The insecure mood had passed. They stood up and joined Peter and James, who were already making their way to the kitchens.

__

A funny seven-letter word- Dislike. Not hate and not like. Just somewhere in between. 

~~~***~~~

So… how is the first official chapter of Life's Crossword Puzzle??? Tell me! Tell me! * Author goes crazy and starts bouncing up and down in excitement * Come on, be a nice person and click the 'Review' option and then click 'Go'. You know you want to… don't you??? Please? :D

Oh, and a **BIG** 'Thank You' to all the people who reviewed for the prologue! I was thrilled to bits! (As you can tell by now, this is the author's first attempted fanfic ever) Thank You sooooo much for reviewing! Your reviews made my day! Honestly. A **BIG BIG** THANK YOU once again! X)


	3. A Five Letter Word That Signifies A Pers...

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.  
  
~~~***~~~

"Achoo!" Lily sneezed violently.

Naomi looked at Lily worriedly. "Lils, you're sure you don't have a cold? You've been sneezing ever since we entered the Divination classroom!"

Lily shook her head and told Naomi not to worry, but under her breath, she muttered to herself," Whoever's talking about me behind my back better quit it!"

Rather surprisingly, she stopped sneezing after that.

The rest of the Divination lesson passed uneventfully, with Lily and Naomi coming out of the classroom moaning about the amount of homework the Professor had asked them to complete.

"It's going to take all night to finish! And I still have that Charms essay!" Naomi groaned unhappily.

"Well, you should have finished the Charms essay yesterday then. That's what **I** did." Lily remarked unsympathetically as they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Aw, Lils, of course you did. But I, on the other hand, don't possess the marvelous self-discipline you have," Naomi said sweetly as she plonked herself on her usual seat at the Gryffindor table. 

"Naomi Andrews, I am not going to lend you my Charms essay to copy so you can banish that thought from your mind," Lily replied smoothly as she sat down next to Naomi.

"What thought, Lilikins?" James asked, overhearing the last bit of the conversation as he and the Marauders entered the Great Hall.

He was answered with a venomous glare and a hiss of "Don't call me Lilikins!" from Lily. 

The Marauders seated themselves opposite Lily and Naomi. Coincidentally, James was sitting across the table from Lily.

"Great." Lily muttered. "Now he's going to spoil my dinner too. I'm going to see his ugly face every time I look up from my food."

"Speaking of dinner, I'm not even sure I can eat after that snack in the kitchens, Prongs," Remus addressed James.

"You can give Wormtail your food. He seems to have no trouble eating dinner," James grinned and gestured to Peter, who was wolfing down the food on his plate as if he had not eaten for months.

"Wait. You four went down to the kitchens?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

Naomi nervously concentrated on the food on her plate. This was not promising to be good.

"Don't you know that you were breaking rules? Remus! How could you? You being a prefect too!" If looks could kill, Remus would have died instantly from the accusing glare Lily shot at him.

"You would think you would be used to this by now. After all, we always go down to the kitchens when we feel hungry," James retorted, indifferent to Lily glowering angrily at him.

"Potter!!! I don't understand how **you** of all people could ever have gotten that badge!!!" Lily jabbed at the Head Boy badge pinned onto James' robes. "You!!! You arrogant, annoying prat who doesn't give a damn about rule-breaking!!! I am absolutely SICK of you!!!" 

Lily stormed out of the Great Hall, livid with rage. 

Naomi screeched a "Now see what you've done, you git!" at James and then ran after Lily, hoping to be able to calm her down.

"You've really done it this time, Prongs," Sirius told a dazed James who fell back in his seat without even realizing that he had been standing all that while.

* * *

"Aargh! Potter just gets me so mad!" Lily vented her anger on Naomi, screeching at her. Then, as if just realizing whom she was talking to, she smiled weakly and apologized, "Sorry, Nom. I shouldn't be venting my frustrations on you."

Naomi accepted the apology with a smile.

"But, really, Lily, you shouldn't lose your temper at him so often. After all, it's true that this is definitely not the first time the Marauders have sneaked into the kitchens." Naomi suggested mildly, hoping that Lily would not lose her temper again at the suggestion.

"I don't want to talk about it. Since we're up here, in the common room, we might as well start on our Divination homework." Lily searched her book bag for her Divination homework.

She pulled out the crossword puzzle by accident instead.

"Whoops. Hey, look. Clue number two: 'Strong feelings about something that you dislike very much'. Five letters." Lily looked at Naomi expectantly, as if the answer was obvious.

"Err… I don't really know the answer, Lils," Naomi blurted out after a few minutes of expectant waiting on Lily's part.

"Anger, of course! Isn't it obvious?" Lily beamed as she penned the word 'Anger' down on the crossword puzzle.

"Now… about the Divination homework…" Lily stuffed the crossword puzzle back in her bag before continuing on her search for her Divination homework.

__

Anger. It is human nature to be angry with him who has hurt you.

~~~***~~~

Okay… the last part is lame, isn't it? I couldn't think of anything else. Sorry…I know it's dumb… and I don't really like this chapter much… but humor me and review, please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

And "**Thank You Ever Sooooo Much!!! :D**" to the wonderful people who reviewed for the previous chapter. Thank you! Thank you! I hope you don't find this chapter too disappointing… I do. I don't know why, but this chapter is the least favorite of all the chapters I've written so far… probably owing to the fact that I got writer's block halfway through. Oh well…


	4. A Thirteen Letter Word Which Conveys Shy...

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.

~~~***~~~

"Prongs, you _are_ going to apologize to Lily, right?" Remus asked James at breakfast the next morning.

"I'm only going to do it because you're forcing me to," James replied sourly.

"Looks like ickle-Jamsie got up on the wrong side of bed today," Sirius smirked, spooning some oatmeal into his bowl.

"Wormtail, you're going to choke if you continue eating at that speed," James warned Peter grumpily.

Peter managed to tell James between mouthfuls of bacon that he had always eaten at this speed and that he had never choked before, not even once.

To this new piece of information, James threw Peter a sulky glare and continued picking at the food on his plate.

"Prongs, they're here." Remus nudged James as Lily and Naomi entered the Great Hall.

"I don't really care," was James' sullen reply to Remus.

"Prongs! You're supposed to apologize! Go!" Remus practically threw James off his chair as Lily walked past his seat.

"Lily. Imsorryforbeinganannoyingarrogantpratlastnightokay?" James rushed over his apology, hoping to get it over and done with.

Lily was now looking at him with a curious sort of interest. _Uh oh. That could not be good._

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that. Would you mind repeating it? Oh, and make it _clearer_ this time." Lily said, smiling ever so innocently and sweetly back at James.

James turned a magnificent shade of magenta and was about to turn on his heel and head back to his seat when he caught Remus watching his every move and glaring at him with a Don't-you-dare-back-out-now kind of look.

He sighed and resigned himself to his fate.

"I. Am. Sorry. For. Being. Such. An. Annoying. Arrogant. Prat. Last. Night. Lily." James gritted his teeth, clenched his knuckles and made sure to repeat every syllable slowly and clearly.

Naomi, who was standing beside Lily, appeared greatly amused by James' apology. 

Lily now seemed satisfied with James' apology and forgave him with a dismissive wave of her hand, indicating that he could go.

"Moony! I am going to kill you for making me do that!" James muttered angrily under his breath as he stormed off back to his seat at the table.

Remus' chair was now empty. Mere coincidence? James thought not.

"Hey, Prongs! After Moony saw you apologize to Lily, he shoved the rest of his breakfast in his mouth and took off, muttering something about Prongs not going to be able to kill him in the library. What do you think he meant by that?" Sirius asked James densely, with a puzzled expression on his face.

"I know only too well, Padfoot. Just eat your breakfast," James gave Sirius the faint shadow of a smile before he immersed himself in the task of properly eating his breakfast.

* * *

"Did you catch the look on his face when you told him to make his apology clearer, Lily?" Naomi doubled over with laughter. 

Lily was laughing along with her too.

"Hmmm… but normally you would have made it harder for him, wouldn't you?" Naomi frowned a little. The frown was almost immediately replaced by a mischievous grin. "Going soft on _James Potter_, are we now, Lily?"

"Wha- No! No!" Lily blushed to the tip of her ears.

"Then why the overreaction?" Naomi was having a thoroughly good time.

"What overreaction? I was merely denying blind accusations!" Lily replied indignantly, regaining some of her composure.

"Yeah. Right." Naomi snorted into her bowl of oatmeal.

"Why don't we crack our heads over the third clue of the crossword puzzle while we're breakfasting?" Lily asked hastily, hoping to change the subject of the conversation.

"Alright." Naomi sipped her pumpkin juice gingerly.

"Let's see…" Lily dug the crossword puzzle out from her bag. "Clue number three: 'Shy, awkward or guilty feelings'. Thirteen letters."

Naomi puzzled over the clue as she spooned some oatmeal into her mouth. The answer came to her in a snap.

"Ay thwinck Ayve gwot iwt Lwilwy," Naomi said, in between a mouthful of oatmeal.

"Huh?" Lily stared at Naomi, not comprehending what her friend had just told her with good reason.

"I said: I think I've got it, Lily," Naomi swallowed her mouthful of oatmeal before attempting to speak to Lily again. 

"Oh. What?"

"Don't you see? It's so absolutely obvious! Embarrassment!" It was now Naomi's turn to chide Lily for not spotting the obvious.

"Hey! You're right!" Lily scribbled 'Embarrassment' on the crossword puzzle. "I suppose James inspired you?" 

"Yeah. Hey, wait a moment. Since when do you start calling _James Potter_ James?" Naomi asked Lily, grinning like the Cheshire cat. 

Lily's cheeks flamed and she slipped the crossword puzzle back in her bag before grabbing Naomi's wrist, dragging her out of the Great Hall and muttering something about them going to be late for Transfiguration. 

This only caused Naomi's grin to widen. She had checked her watch and Transfiguration started promptly in _fifteen minutes_ time.

__

Embarrassment. Seems like James Potter was not the only person to be embarrassed in the Great Hall that morning. No, a certain Lily Evans accompanied him. 

~~~***~~~

Whoopee! My writer's block is gone and I'm glad to announce that I had **a lot** of fun writing this chapter. Hee. Don't I just love torturing Lily? Just kidding. But it **was** fun… 

And… review please! (Hehe. I bet you thought I forgot, eh? Not a chance) If I have at least **5** reviews for this chapter, I'll write the next chapter as quick as a jiffy. If I get **0** reviews… well… let's just say you won't see the next chapter of this story till you have white hair. Oh my goodness… have I just stooped to bribery and threats to get reviews? That means I must be getting really desperate for more reviews… so… you know what to do, don't you? (If you still don't know what to do, click the 'Review' option and then click 'Go'. Okay?) X)

Once more… Thanks to all the simply wonderful people who reviewed for the last few chapters. Oh, and I took some of Trinity Day's advice, like editing my summary and getting rid of the 'Just read. I'm not really very good at summaries' part. I also neglected to mention that this chapter's ending line is a bit different from the rest. Why? I don't really know… I just felt like it. :D 


	5. A Nine Letter Word That Reveals A State ...

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer. 

~~~***~~~

Lily growled in frustration as she failed to turn her matchbox into a cushion. 

Naomi eyed her warily and asked meekly, "Lils, you're sure you don't need help with that?"

"No, no. Just let me concentrate properly," Lily snapped.

Naomi was a little taken aback at Lily's bad temper, but she soon found it in her heart to forgive her- after all, Transfiguration was Lily's worse subject. Lily never seemed to be able to properly transfigure anything and she barely made it through her Transfiguration exams in the past few years, passing by only a few marks. 

Naomi, on the other hand, could at least turn a needle into a quill without mutilating it and managed to score quite well in her Transfiguration exams. However, whenever she tried to help Lily in the subject, Lily would reject her offers saying that she would be able to do it if she just concentrated harder. 

Naomi's eyes scanned the room with interest, taking in who had already transfigured their matchboxes into cushions and who had been failing miserably like Lily. Remus had turned his matchbox into a plump cushion on his fourth attempt and was now trying to turn it back into a matchbox again. Peter was glaring at his matchbox because it refused to transfigure itself into a cushion, an act which Naomi doubted would help much with his transfiguration.

Sirius had a nice soft cushion on his desk, but he was concentrating more on the blonde-haired girl sitting next to him. James, on the other hand, was looked very bored with his cushion. He kept transfiguring it into a matchbox and then back to a cushion again with simple flicks of his wand. Naomi noticed Lily staring at his cushion enviously.

"Ms. Evans, you seem to have some trouble with your matchbox. Mr. Potter, would you mind helping her with it?" Professor McGonagall's crisp voice rang out.

James stared blankly at his cushion for a moment, McGonagall's word just beginning to register in his mind. When he finally understood what McGonagall had asked him to do, he sighed and headed to Lily's desk, where she was desperately making a last-minute attempt to transfigure her matchbox (She obviously doesn't want James to teach her). 

"Your wrist-work is all wrong, Evans," James observed as Lily failed at her last attempt at transfiguring.

"You have to do it like so," James flicked his wand neatly and Lily's matchbox turned into a cushion. He transfigured it back into a matchbox and gestured for Lily to try again. 

Lily tried again, this time flicking her wand a little bit more. This resulted in a cushion the size of a matchbox. 

James was amused, but he hid it well, turning the pint-sized cushion back into a matchbox. 

"Better. But you still need to flick your wrist more." James placed his hand on Lily's wrist and swished it sharply. "Something like that."

Lily blushed. "Err… James, you can let go now."

James was staring down at her wrist with an almost indecent curiosity. He now released her wrist somewhat reluctantly.

"Erm… yeah… why don't you practice the hand movement now?" James asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Okay." Lily swished her wand and murmured the incantation. 

To her utmost surprise, Lily's matchbox turned swiftly into a soft, cushy cushion.

"Oh. My. God." Lily stared at her cushion in disbelief. She slowly turned to face James with every sign of delight and astonishment written on her face. 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Lily literally flung herself on James. James didn't know what hit him. When he finally realized Lily was hugging him though, he almost fainted from sheer happiness.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter! I should think the broom closet would be a better place for such displays of affection." McGonagall was towering over the duo.

Lily blushed furiously and immediately released James from the hug. James looked somewhat disappointed, but he could have sworn he saw McGonagall's mouth twitch into a rare smile for a second.

"Ah, Ms. Evans, I see you have successfully transfigured your matchbox into a cushion. Very good." McGonagall bestowed a smile on Lily and James. "You should get Mr. Potter to tutor you in Transfiguration more often."

McGonagall then shooed James back to his seat before rushing to Frank Longbottom to correct him on the incantation he was using. 

"Lils! Did my eyes deceive me or did you really just give _James Potter_ a hug?" Naomi asked Lily, grinning impishly.

"Aw, put a sock in it, Nom." Lily gave Naomi a playful punch. 

Naomi, who recognized the thoughtful expression on Lily's face, said nothing more about the matter to her. She knew that Lily did not like to be disturbed when she was in a thoughtful mood.

__

James Potter. Lily, you just hugged James Potter. What do you have to say for yourself as a defense? 

It felt nice. 

Lily Evans! Get a grip on yourself! We're talking about James Potter. The same James Potter you've hated since first year! 

Not hated. Disliked.

Whatever. And now, out of the blue, you've decided to like him! 

No… it's just… he **is** kind of cute…

Lily! 

He really is cute! Those chocolate brown eyes…

No! Lily! No!

Lily shook her head to clear her thoughts. She needed something to distract her from James.

Without even meaning to, she slid the crossword puzzle out of her bag.

'A state of uncertainty'. Nine letters.

This is a no-brainer, Lily thought. The answer is obviously 'confusion'.

She wrote the word down in neat letters before she glanced at her watch, grimaced and slid the crossword puzzle back in her bag.

The Transfiguration lesson was over. It was Potions next. 

__

Confusion. A state of uncertainty. Well, that was definitely what Lily was in now.

~~~***~~~

Hehe. Don't I just love torturing Lily? My writer's block has bid me farewell for some period of time and I've had heaps of fun writing this chapter, especially since my friend was assisting me. I never knew she was such a romantic. Anyway, this chapter is my favorite so far. I am going to give a warning to readers out there: I'm pouring on the fluff now.

Oh, and to those who observed that James called Lily "Evans" when he helped her and wonder why (First give yourself a pat on the back for being so observant), it's because James still feels a little ticked off at having to apologize to Lily earlier on. Well, now that I've cleared that little point up…

It's time to bug you readers to **REVIEW**!!! I'm not stooping to bribery and threats again (I'm saving what little dignity I have left), but please, please, please review? Pretty pretty please with extra cherries and whipped cream on top? 

Now, to thank those who reviewed! Yay! Thanks for reviewing and I promise to write more chapters fast for your sake. And thank you to my friend once again, who helped me when I just couldn't find the right words to describe some scenes. Thank you, all reviewers and Odd (That's my friend's nickname)! 

__


	6. A Four Letter Word That Anticipates Dang...

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.

~~~***~~~

"Lils, what do I get if I add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Naomi looked at Lily hopefully. 

"You'll get a powerful sleeping potion that is known as the Draught of Living Death. Nom, this is first-year work!" Lily told Naomi reproachfully.

"I know, but it's kind of hard to remember after six years!" Naomi argued back weakly.

Lily just rolled her eyes and returned to the book that she had been reading before Naomi had interrupted her.

Naomi sighed and turned back to her Potions homework. She was nearing the completion of it now, but she was still slightly irked that Lily had completed hers yesterday while she had been playing a game of Wizard's Chess with Remus. 

"There! I'm done with homework for the rest of the day!" Naomi exclaimed with joy as she rolled up her completed composition on Powerful Sleeping Draughts and Their Effects and stuffed it into her bag with glee.

"I'm going out for a walk on the grounds since it's such a fine day. Lils, want to join me?" Naomi bounced up from her seat cheerfully.

"You go on. I think I'll just stay here and read my book." Lily smiled at her friend.

"We'll accompany you!" Sirius leaped up from his seat on the couch to Naomi, dragging Remus along with him. "You want to come with us, Prongs?"

"Nah… I've still got to finish my Potions essay." James looked up at his friends and gestured for them to go on their walk without him.

"Fine then. See you later, Prongsie," Sirius pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole after Naomi. 

The room fell silent after that, except for the scratching of James' quill against his parchment. 

Lily soon felt her eyelids drooping and struggled to keep awake, to no avail…

__

"Lily! Grab Harry and run! He's here!" Lily heard James shout. She found herself running to a baby's cot in the room she was in and lifting the baby who was inside into her arms.

"Avada Kedavra!" Lily rushed out of the room and to the top of the stairs to see a green light flashing from Voldemort's wand. The next thing she knew, James lay dead at the bottom of the stairs.

"No! James!" Lily's tears flowed freely.

"Give me the child." Voldemort started up the stairs.

"No! Not Harry!" Lily rushed back into Harry's room, clutching the baby fiercely.

"Give me the child." Lily knew she was cornered. There was nowhere to run now, excepting a small barred window in the nursery.

"Not my son! Please, not Harry!" Lily begged the hooded figure.

"Avada Kedavra!" Green light issued from Voldemort's wand once again.

"Lily! Lily, wake up!" Lily found herself being shaken awake by James. Relief flooded her as she looked around at the familiar Gryffindor common room and James.

"Nightmare?" James asked her, concerned.

Lily gave a little shudder and nodded. Only then did she feel something wet on her face and realize she had been crying.

"Here." James handed Lily a handkerchief.

Lily took it from him gratefully and wiped away her tears.

"What happened?" She asked him as she returned the handkerchief to him.

"I was in the middle of my Potions essay when I suddenly heard you shout, "No! James!". Needless to say, I looked over and saw you crying. Then, you screamed something about Harry and I woke you up," James looked at Lily worriedly. "You're sure you're alright now? You still look very pale."

"It was awful! James, it was awful!" Lily buried her head in his chest without thinking. James was very surprised, but patted her back awkwardly.

"What did you dream about?"

"Voldemort. And you. And Harry." Lily lifted her head and found herself looking into James' warm brown eyes.

"Voldemort? Me? And who's Harry?" James asked curiously.

"Our son."

"What?" James was startled.

"Well… now that I think about it, I'm not really sure…" Lily blushed.

"Let's try to forget that upsetting nightmare then. Why don't we…" James' voice trailed off as his eyes searched the room for something to distract Lily from her nightmare. They finally rested on Lily's bag. "Do a crossword puzzle!" 

He slid the crossword puzzle out from her bag and read the fifth clue aloud. "An emotion experienced in anticipation of danger. Four letters."

Lily cuddled up to James and shuddered. "It's fear, James. Fear."

__

Fear. He who fears something gives it power over him.

~~~***~~~

Hmmm… the last part came out a little funny. Well, I think so anyway. Other than that, this chapter didn't turn out too bad… right??? Review, please, and let me know what you think.

I also want to thank the people who have been reviewing faithfully. **Thank you!** I really appreciate the fact that you actually stop to review, and consider my story important enough to spend some time over. **Thanks!** =)


	7. A Four Letter Word Which Means 'Pain Tha...

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.

~~~***~~~

"Come on, Lils. Tell me what happened between you and James yesterday when Sirius, Remus and I went for our walk," Naomi was whining to Lily, who absolutely refused to talk about the incident.

"Nom, nothing happened. How many times must I keep repeating that?" Lily asked impatiently as the duo walked into the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Until you finally admit that something happened between you and James yesterday," was Naomi's reply. "Besides, if nothing had happened, how did we enter the common room to find you resting your head on James' shoulder? I suppose it just flew there against your will, dragging your body along with it too?"

"N-no…" Lily flushed scarlet.

"Aha! You're blushing! Something did happen! Lily Evans, tell all!" Naomi pounced on Lily eagerly.

"Nothing happened! Anyway, have you seen James? I want to go over with him the details of the next Prefects' meeting," Lily changed the subject of the conversation with haste.

"Jamsie? I think he's at the Quidditch pitch. He woke up early today to get some extra practice. Big game tomorrow, you know," Sirius overheard Lily and Naomi (He, Remus and Peter were sitting across the breakfast table from them).

"Oh. Okay. I'll go there to find him then." Lily rose from her seat.

"Don't you want your breakfast, Lils?" 

"I'll only be a while, Nom." Lily ran out of the Great Hall.

* * *

Lily wandered onto the grass and looked around the Quidditch pitch. 

Her heart fell.

She had just seen James Potter. _Kissing a fair-haired Hufflepuff on the Quidditch pitch._

Angry tears stung Lily's eyes and threatened to fall.

A feeling of sadness she couldn't understand overwhelmed her.

And she ran. She didn't know where. She just wanted to run, run away from it all.

It was just too bad she did not stay a moment longer though, for if she had, she would have seen James Potter push the Hufflepuff away angrily.

* * *

__

"I- I- I thought he actually c-cared, Nom…I- I was such a fool…" Lily sobbed into her pillow. 

Naomi patted Lily's back sympathetically and narrowed her eyes in rage at the thought of James Potter. How could he do this to Lily? After showing every sign of interest in Lily, he went off to kiss a Hufflepuff blonde?

"I'm going to personally kill that git for you, Lils," Naomi muttered dangerously under her breath as she tried to comfort Lily.

Lily was crying her heart out. Is _he_ worth it, Lils? Naomi asked Lily silently in her head.

Aloud, she simply asked, "Tissue?" and handed Lily a tissue from her pocket.

"A-are we going t-to be late for H-history of M-magic, Nom?" Lily asked Naomi as she wiped the tears on her face away with the tissue.

"Lils, we've already missed three- quarters of the lesson," Naomi explained patiently to a horrified Lily.

"W-we've missed it?" Lily asked in horror.

"Yes. Which is why you've got to pull yourself together for Herbology, Lils," Naomi tried her best to soothe Lily.

"O-okay… so w-what do we do n-now?" Lily rubbed her red eyes.

"Well… since we've completed all our homework and have nothing to do for the next eight minutes or so, I was thinking along the lines of having another go at your crossword puzzle, Lils," Naomi suggested.

Lily nodded and reached out for the crossword puzzle that now lay on her bedside table.

"The sixth clue: 'Feelings of mental pain'. Four letters." Naomi read aloud.

Lily stared at the crossword puzzle curiously. After a while, she took a quill from her pocket and scribbled 'Hurt' on it.

"Wow, Lils. You're right. It fits." Naomi was impressed. "How did you get it?"

"How could I not get it, Nom? 'Hurt' is what I'm feeling right now."

__

I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you mess your hair. 

I hate the way you ride your broomstick, I hate it when you stare. 

I hate your warm brown eyes, and the way you read my mind. 

I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme. 

I hate it, I hate the way you're always right. 

I hate it when you lie. 

I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. 

I hate it that you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call. 

But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. 

Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

~~~***~~~

Aww… isn't that little poem at the back nice? But, before you get any ideas, it's not mine. I wish it was, but * sigh * reality hurts.

Anyway, how is it? How is it? Review, review and review please! I'm so proud of this chapter! Even though I'm not really good at writing melancholy stuff, I think I established Lily being sad quite well in this one… am I right? Or am I wrong? Review and tell me! ;D

Again, thank you to the people who reviewed for the previous chapters. I think I'm getting more confident with my chapters because of all your encouragement. Keep reviewing, please. I really do read every one of your reviews and appreciate them. 

Just a little note: Lily was stammering because she was crying. It's kind of hard to talk clearly while crying and if you don't believe me, you can try crying and talking at the same time. For the record, I always stammer when I cry.

__


	8. A Five Letter Word Which Signifies Remor...

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.

~~~***~~~

James strode up to Lily immediately after the Herbology lesson was over.

"Lils, why have you been giving me the cold shoulder all lesson?" James asked, perplexed. 

It was true. Lily had blatantly ignored James' questions and attempts at striking up a conversation with her all Herbology lesson, treating him as if he was invisible. Naomi, too, had been behaving strangely in James' opinion. She had constantly thrown James frosty glares all through the lesson and had refused to talk to him unless it was required for the class.

"Like you care. And don't call me 'Lils', Potter. Only my friends are allowed to call me that," was Lily's curt reply.

"But-" James was bewildered. Why was Lily's behavior towards him so hostile?

Lance Morton, who was walking nervously up to Lily, interrupted James.

"Err… Lils?" Lance addressed Lily. 

Lily smiled encouragingly at him. James turned green with envy and jealousy. 

__

How come **I'm** not allowed to call her 'Lils' but **Lance Morton** is? James asked himself in his head bitterly.

"Well, Lils, I was, err… wondering if you would, err… like to lunch with me this Sunday at Hogsmeade?" Lance stumbled over his words in anxiety. 

James glared venomously at Lance. _Say **no**, Lily. Say **no**._

"Sure, Lance!" Lily replied brightly. 

James blinked in disbelief. Did his hearing deceive him, or had Lily Evans really just said what he thought she had just said?

"I'll see you this Sunday then, Lils. It's a date!" Lance said with relief as he gathered his books and exited the greenhouse happily.

"Oh yes, Potter. Were you saying something before Lance came?" Lily turned back to James and regarded him coldly.

James did not answer her immediately. He slowly picked his Herbology books up from the table he had been working at, one by one by one.

Lily was about to make an exasperated noise and tell him she that didn't have all day when he finally spoke up.

"I see." Were the words that fell out of James' mouth, barely audible. He looked Lily squarely in the eye when he said that simple sentence, and then walked out of the greenhouse, not giving Lily any chance to reply.

Not that Lily would have been able to, had she been given the chance. She was standing there, quite still, stunned. _No, James. You don't see. You don't see at all._

* * *

"An unhappy feeling caused by knowing that you have done something wrong. Five letters, Lils," Naomi read out the seventh clue of the crossword puzzle lazily as she relaxed in her armchair.

The common room was empty except for the duo. The rest of the Gryffindor population was down in the Great Hall having their dinner. Lily and Naomi had rushed through their dinner earlier on, Lily not wanting to face James at dinner after the greenhouse incident. Naomi, good friend that she was, had accompanied Lily and they were now doing Lily's crossword puzzle in the Gryffindor common room.

Lily bit her lower lip in deep concentration.

"Ugh. The word's at the tip of my tongue… I think it begins with a 'G'," Naomi stated.

"Guilt."

"Lils, it seems you're brilliant at crossword puzzles," Naomi fished a quill out from her pocket and penned 'Guilt' down on the crossword puzzle.

A companionable silence ensued. 

"Nom, I just can't take it anymore!" Lily burst out suddenly.

"Take what, Lils?" Naomi wisely pushed the crossword puzzle back into Lily's bag and prepared herself to listen and give good advice like a good friend should when his friend is in trouble.

"The situation at hand. I can't go on that date with Lance!"

"Why not?" Naomi raised an eyebrow.

"Nom, I can't… I only agreed to go on that date with Lance because I was trying to forget James and, well… I don't think I can ever just forget James like that," Lily admitted, hanging her head in shame at what she had done.

"Does James really mean that much to you, Lils?" Naomi asked softly. 

"I-I… yes…" Lily's cheeks flamed. 

"Are you willing to forgive him and give him another chance if he apologizes sincerely then?" 

"Yes," Lily did not even hesitate.

"Then I suggest you cancel that date with Lance. Don't worry, I don't think he'll be too hurt. Some girls say he's already got his eyes on Selina Blunt and only asked you on that date as a result of a dare one of his friends gave him. He'll survive," Naomi paused, then continued. "And of course, you should talk to James. Though **I** don't think that insufferable git deserves another chance after what he did, **you** think he does, and that's what counts. Talk to him tomorrow and who knows? He may have a perfectly innocent explanation as to why he was snogging that Hufflepuff."

Lily stared at Naomi in amazement. "Wow, Nom. You should have your own advice column in the Daily Prophet!"

"It's just what friends do, Lils. Why don't we retire to bed early tonight? You can think about the advice I've just given you, and if you want, turn words into action tomorrow," Naomi smiled serenely at her friend.

That night, Lily pondered over what Naomi had advised her to do before falling into deep slumber, dreaming of a better tomorrow.

__

Guilt- A remorseful awareness of having done something wrong. Well, Lily was certainly going to right the wrong… tomorrow.

~~~***~~~

Uh huh. Another chapter completed. Hooray! I hope to post the next chapter up tomorrow and finish this whole story by the end of 2003. Which is 4 days away. Wish me luck… and **Review**!!!

It sounds like Lily is procrastinating in the last part of the chapter, doesn't it? Oh well, it can't be helped. I frankly don't really like this chapter (But I don't hate it either :P). What do you think of it? **Review!!!** And the next chapter will be better, I promise. 

Once again, 'Thanks' to the people who reviewed. Please continue reading and reviewing! XD


	9. A Five Letter Word That Reveals Intense ...

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.

~~~***~~~

A cool breeze blew against Lily's face as she climbed the stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch and sat down next to Remus and Peter.

The Quidditch match was about to commence.

Lily was in high spirits. She had just spoken to Lance and he had been very understanding about her canceling their date.

__

~~~~~Flashback~~~~~

"Err… Lance, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our date on Sunday due to certain circumstances that have just risen," Lily had told Lance apologetically.

She had been quite surprised at the reaction that she had gotten from Lance. She had not expected him to be so… **relieved**.

He had had the decency to attempt to look sorry, but the relief had been there. Of this Lily was quite certain.

"Oh. That's alright, really. I understand," Lance had replied absent-mindedly before he had run off to reserve a seat beside Selina Blunt of Ravenclaw.

So Naomi had been right, Lily mused. But then again, Naomi was usually right.

~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~

Sarah Higgins of Hufflepuff, who was doing the commentary for the match, jolted Lily out of her reverie.

"Hogwarts, welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!" 

Cheers filled the air as the two teams made their way onto the pitch with their brooms.

The two captains shook hands and Madam Cust blew her whistle.

From her position in the stands, Lily could see James rise high up into the air and snatch the Quaffle. He shot it through the tallest hoop and earned 20 points for Gryffindor.

Lily tore her eyes away from James and focused them instead on her best friend, who was also playing for Gryffindor. 

Naomi was sitting quite still on her broom, scanning the pitch for any sign of the Snitch.

* * *

James could feel the wind in his hair as he sped around the Quidditch pitch. 

__

What a feeling.

James had always loved to play Quidditch for as long as he could remember.

__

It allowed him to forget about all his problems and a certain redhead.

In the background, Sarah Higgins was hollering something about Andrea Caldwell scoring 20 more points for Gryffindor, but James could only hear her vaguely.

It was as if he was in another world altogether. A world full of Lily Evans and nothing else.

__

Lily Evans. And Lance Morton. James could not bear even the thought of them together.

__

Why was life so unfair? He had been chasing Lily for a date for three whole **years** and she had yet to agree when Lance Morton simply came up and secured a date with her.

The last thing James remembered before he felt an intense pain at the back of his head was Sirius shouting, "Prongs! Look out!"

And then he plunged into blackness.

* * *

Lily frowned. Everything had been going well on the Quidditch pitch so far, Gryffindor leading Ravenclaw by 60 points.

However, James was behaving strangely. One minute he was racking up the first 20 points for Gryffindor, the next minute he was sitting quite tense and still on his broomstick, staring into space and oblivious to his surroundings.

The game was still going on quite well without him, of course, but Lily felt somewhat uneasy. It was not like James to behave like this. He loved Quidditch. Normally, he would be speeding around the pitch, shooting the Quaffle into the hoops at any chance he got.

A gasp from Remus interrupted Lily's thoughts.

She looked up just in time to see a bludger hit James at the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

And the Snitch chose that unfortunate moment to make its appearance. 

Lily could see that Naomi was torn between seeing if James was alright and seizing the Snitch.

After a few shouts of "Andrews! Get the Snitch!" from a fellow teammate though, Naomi sped like an arrow towards the Snitch. 

After her fingers finally closed around the Snitch, Naomi sped to the ground. Sirius had caught James and had prevented him from plummeting to his death just in the nick of time. They were now on the ground of the Quidditch pitch, Sirius calling urgently for Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall.

Lily had apparently run all the way from the stands to the Quidditch pitch and was now kneeling beside James, her face white. Remus and Peter were standing on both sides of her, trying, but failing, to comfort her.

"How is he?" Naomi asked Madam Pomfrey softly after she had examined him.

"Bad knock at the back of his head," Madam Pomfrey said briskly. "He'll be residing in the Hospital Wing for some time yet."

She then beckoned to Sirius and Remus to help carry James to the Hospital Wing.

Lily felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Naomi.

"Lils? You alright?" Naomi asked worriedly.

"Yeah. Why shouldn't I be?" Lily asked Naomi in a broken voice.

"The extreme sadness shows in your eyes, Lils" Naomi let Lily know she was not fooled one bit.

"I never can fool you, can I, Nom? You're right. I'm **not** alright. I feel so sad, it's scary, Nom," Tears trickled down Lily's cheeks. 

* * *

"Where's Lily?" Sirius asked Naomi as he and Remus climbed in through the portrait hole later in the afternoon.

They had just finished the important task of carrying James to the Hospital Wing.

"She's upstairs, sleeping. Don't you dare disturb her. She cried for hours on end before finally falling asleep, exhausted." Naomi sighed. "How's James?"

"Madam Pomfrey says he'll be alright in a few days' time." Remus replied as he sat down beside Naomi on the couch.

"Lily cried for hours for our ickle-Jamsie?" Sirius asked with interest as he plopped himself down on an armchair.

"Make fun of Lily and die, Sirius. I swear I saw real _grief_ in the girl's eyes," Naomi put an emphasis on the word 'grief'.

"Grief, eh? Like this? 'Intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one'. A five-letter word." Remus glanced down at the ninth clue of the crossword puzzle that was lying conveniently on the table.

"Yes. Exactly like that." Naomi said tiredly.

__

Grief. Grief is the agony of an instant, the indulgence of grief the blunder of a life.

~~~***~~~

Another chapter finished. And posted. Just like I promised. Who says I don't keep my promises? * Grins * 

Oh, and **review**, please! I'm churning out the next chapter and it should be on its way soon! :D

Just a little side-note: Lily only canceled her date with Lance a few minutes before the commencement of the Quidditch match. She planned on telling James what she had done only after the match. Just wanted to clear this little fact up to avoid any confusion.


	10. A Six Letter Word That Feels Comfort

Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.

~~~***~~~

"How's James?" Those were the words most commonly uttered to Naomi, Remus, Sirius and Peter by concerned fellow Gryffindors in the common room that afternoon.

Truthfully, Naomi was getting very sick of having to answer "Madam Pomfrey says he'll be alright in a few days' time" every time the question was raised by some worried Gryffindor.

"Is Lily still in the Hospital Wing?" Remus asked Naomi as he bent over an essay about the uprising of Elfric the Eager that he was completing.

Naomi could have kissed him for asking her a question other than "How's James?", but she thankfully restrained herself and answered instead, "Probably. She sped there immediately after breakfast and hasn't been seen anywhere else since, so she's most likely still there."

"By the way, what has come over our Lilikins of late? Is she possessed or somethi-" Sirius was cut short by a murderous glare that Naomi threw at him. 

"Don't I have a right to be curious?" Sirius asked Naomi innocently.

"No. And please put a sock in it, Padfoot. I'm trying to remember what heroic feat Elfric the Eager performed in 1862." Remus told Sirius curtly.

"Why does everyone tell me to shut up? Nom, **you** wouldn't tell me to hush up, right?" Sirius turned to Naomi, pretending to be hurt.

"I'm telling you to right now, Sirius." Naomi laughed and stood up.

"Where are you off to?" Remus looked up from his essay inquisitively.

"The Hospital Wing." Naomi stated as she pushed open the portrait hole and climbed out.

Behind her, a few Gryffindors who had just come down from their dormitories bombarded Remus, Sirius and Peter with the all-too familiar question of "How's James?". 

* * *

Lily looked down at the piece of parchment clutched in her hands and frowned.

For the life of her, she couldn't seem to remember what Elfric the Eager had accomplished in 1862.

She put her quill and parchment down on a nearby bedside table with a sigh and looked up at the unconscious figure of James Potter.

Her expression softened considerably.

Lily had realized over the course of the recent events that she didn't dislike James Potter anymore. She wasn't very sure what her feelings towards James were yet, but she knew enough to know that she no longer disliked him. No, there was now a new feeling replacing her older feelings of him- one of a certain sort of tenderness. Lily couldn't really understand it, but it was there nonetheless.

"Lils?" Naomi pushed open the door of the Hospital Wing and surveyed the room before her. Her glance finally settled on Lily.

"Aha! I just knew you would be here!" Naomi bounded up to her friend, who smiled at her.

"Are you here to check on James?" Lily asked questioningly. 

"Nope. I'm here to check on **you**. What have you been doing to occupy your time, Lils?" Naomi's face suddenly screwed up in disgust as she discovered Lily's essay on Elfric the Eager resting on the bedside table, alongside her quill. "Lils, how boring can you get? It's Sunday and the essay's only due on Thursday! Luckily for you, you have a **great** friend like me, who has brought you something more interesting to do!"

Lily watched Naomi with interest as she dug out a folded piece of paper from her pocket. 

"Ta-dah! Your crossword puzzle!" Naomi announced proudly, unfolding the sheet of paper and brandishing it at Lily.

"Fine. Let's have a go at it." Lily couldn't help but laugh at her friend's enthusiasm.

"Excuse me, ladies, but I would like to perform a check-up on Mr. Potter." Madam Pomfrey swept into the room and shooed Lily and Naomi outside for the time being.

Lily and Naomi soon found themselves leaning on the wall outside the Hospital Wing, crossword puzzle still in hand.

"Well, I suppose now's as perfect a time as any to start on the next clue." Naomi grinned. "A feeling of comfort when something frightening or worrying has ended. Six letters."

"Hmm… This one has me stumped…" Lily tried to think of an emotion that fitted the description Naomi had just given her, but could think of none.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter has come to. He requests to see you." Madam Pomfrey startled both Lily and Naomi by suddenly flinging the Hospital Wing door wide open.

Tears of relief sprang to Lily's eyes.

"He's come to? Really?" She asked, still a little doubtful as to whether this was all some cruel joke concocted by her friends.

"I assure you it's so, Ms. Evans. Now, if you don't want to see Mr. Potter, he'll need his rest." Was Madam Pomfrey's curt reply.

"Nonono… I'll see him right away! Err… you don't mind, do you, Nom?" Lily asked Naomi uncertainly.

"Of course not! Go ahead, Lils. Oh, and by the way, I've figured out the word." Naomi replied cheerily.

Lily, who had been stepping into the Hospital Wing, stopped in mid-step when she heard this and turned around with the curiosity to kill a cat. 

"What?"

"Relief." Naomi smiled amiably at Lily.

__

Relief. For this relief, much thanks; 'tis bitter cold.

~~~***~~~

Another chapter up and about! Let's celebrate! * Author flings party streamers in the air * But… the bad news: I've already exceeded my deadline of 1st January for the completion of the story! Oh dear. I hope all of you out there don't mind too much. I'll try really hard to upload the next chapter by Friday. However, I can't promise anything because school has started once again and I'll probably be up to my neck with homework and stuff. By the way, the next chapter is the last chapter. That is, **not** counting the epilogue. Thought you all might be a little interested to know how near to the completion of the story you are currently.

Once again, review please. :D 


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